“Ridiculously invasive question”;”Very unprofessional”: Fans shocked as Alex de Minaur asked about proposing to … – Sportskeeda
Alex de Minaur fielding a question about potentially proposing to his girlfriend and fellow tennis player Katie Boulter if he wins the 2024 Australian Open has left tennis fans shocked.
De Minaur recently powered Australia through to the semifinals of the United Cup, delighting the home crowd in Perth with a stunning upset over Novak Djokovic. The 24-year-old defeated the World No. 1 in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-4. With Ajla Tomljanovic and the doubles duo of Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter also emerging victorious, Australia clinched a 3-0 win over Serbia.
During the post-match press conference, Alex de Minaur was asked about potentially emulating his idol Lleyton Hewitt by proposing to his girlfriend and fellow tennis player, Katie Boulter, after the upcoming Australian Open.
Back in 2005, shortly after suffering a defeat to Marat Safin in the Australian Open, Hewitt proposed to his now-wife, Australian actress Rebecca Cartwright.
However, De Minaur expressed hesitation about following in Hewitt’s footsteps, feeling put on the spot. He disclosed that a proposal wasn’t on the cards yet and emphasized that his focus was entirely on tennis.
“Jeez. Putting me on the spot here. Yeah, it’s not on the cards just yet. Not ruling it out. But yeah, for the time being, I’m going to try and focus on playing tennis and then we’ll think about the off-court activities,” Alex de Minaur said.
Despite the journalist pressing for an answer and asking if he would consider it if he won the Australian Open, the 24-year-old merely suggested that it wouldn’t be a bad way to celebrate such an achievement.
“Jeez (smiling). Wouldn’t be a bad way to celebrate it, let’s just say that,” he said.
However, after the journalist pushed him to make a deal about following through if he won the Melbourne Slam, the Australian ultimately agreed to the proposition.
Tennis fans did not take kindly to the journalist’s “unprofessional” question, asserting that it made Alex de Minaur visibly uncomfortable.
“Very unprofessional – puts Alex in a pretty awkward position. He’s not in a press conference to be put on the spot about his private life,” a fan posted.
“Alex seemed uncomfortable. And the interviewer didn’t let up and posed a follow-up question around it. 😱,” another fan chimed in.
One fan sarcastically commented on the tendency of tennis press conferences to feature a “ridiculously invasive” line of questioning.
“Is it really a tennis presser if someone doesn’t ask a ridiculously invasive and completely irrelevant question?” the fan commented.
Here are a few more reactions from fans: